My last post was about German weak verbs. In addition to the explanation how to conjugate weak verbs in German, I gave you an exercise where you had to fill in the blanks with the correct conjugated forms of the verbs used in the example sentences. Following you find the key to the exercise, the English translations of the sentences, and some further notes to some verb meanings.<\/p>\n
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1. suchen \u2013 to look for: Ich suche das Museum. \u2013 I am looking for the museum.<\/p>\n
The German word \u201csuchen\u201d has three common English equivalents, these are: to look for<\/em><\/strong>, to search<\/em><\/strong>, and to seek<\/em><\/strong>. So, if you need to know the German meaning of any of the three English verbs you can always opt for German \u201csuchen\u201d.<\/p>\n 2. reservieren \u2013 to book: Peter reserviert ein Hotelzimmer. \u2013 Peter books\/is booking a hotel room.<\/p>\n The German verb \u201creservieren\u201d can either be translated as to reserve<\/em><\/strong> or to book<\/em><\/strong> (which again can also me translated as \u201cbuchen\u201d). Further, in German you do not distinguish between simple and progressive tenses, thus, you can use the German Pr\u00e4sens<\/em> Tense for both Simple Present<\/em><\/strong> and Present Progressive<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n 3. warten \u2013 to wait: Sie (Anne und Stefan) warten auf den Bus. \u2013 They are waiting for the bus.<\/p>\n The German sentence \u201cSie warten auf den Bus\u201d is ambiguous because it can either be translated as \u201cYou are waiting for the bus\u201d or as \u201cThey are waiting for the bus\u201d. Which meaning this sentence has indeed is only recognizable in the speech situation.<\/p>\n 4. mieten \u2013 to rent: Ihr mietet ein Auto. \u2013 You rent\/are renting a car.<\/p>\n 5. fragen \u2013 to ask: Wir fragen\u00a0 nach der Adresse. \u2013 We ask for the address.<\/p>\n The most common English translation of the German verb \u201cfragen\u201d is to ask<\/em><\/strong>, but this German verb can also be translated as to question<\/em><\/strong>, which again can be translated as \u201chinterfragen\u201d, in order to intensify the meaning of \u2018asking\u2019.<\/p>\n 6. lernen \u2013 to learn: Ich lerne Deutsch. \u2013 I learn\/am learning German.<\/p>\n As mentioned above, the German language does not distinguish between simple and progressive forms. Thus, \u201cIch lerne Deutsch\u201d can either mean that you are doing it actively at the moment of speaking or it can also mean that this is general, current action. Mind: When you would like to say that \u2018you have been learning German for x years now\u2019<\/em> you simply use the Pr\u00e4sens<\/em> tense sentence and insert the particular time that you have learned German, e.g. \u201cIch lerne (jetzt) seit zwei Jahren Deutsch.\u201d = \u201cI have been learning German for two years (now).\u201d<\/p>\n 7. reisen \u2013 to travel: Ich reise nach Hamburg. \u2013 I travel\/am travelling to Hamburg.<\/p>\n 8. brauchen \u2013to need: Er braucht ein Taxi. \u2013 He needs a taxi.<\/p>\n 9. telefonieren \u2013 to phone; to call: Du telefonierst mit deiner Mutter. \u2013 You are calling your mother.<\/p>\n 10. bestellen \u2013 to order: Tina bestellt ein Glas Wein. \u2013 Tina orders\/is ordering a glass of wine.<\/p>\n 11. tanzen \u2013 to dance: Frau Schmidt, Sie tanzen gut! \u2013 Frau Schmidt, you are dancing well!<\/p>\n 12. arbeiten \u2013 to work: Der Professor arbeitet jeden Tag. \u2013 The professor works every day.<\/p>\n In German, we distinguish between male and female job titles. All you have to do to make an occupation feminine is to replace the masculine article \u201cder\u201d with the feminine article \u201cdie\u201d and add the ending \u2013in to the masculine form of the noun, e.g. der Lehrer -> die Lehrerin (teacher), der Jounalist -> die Journalistin (journalist), der Verk\u00e4ufer -> die Verk\u00e4uferin (sales assitant).<\/p>\n 13. \u00f6ffnen \u2013 to open: Die Professorin \u00f6ffnet das Fenster. \u2013 The (female) professor opens the window.<\/p>\n 14. Kosten \u2013 to cost Die Pizza kostet nur 5 Euro. \u2013 The pizza is just 5 Euros. \/ The pizza costs just 5 Euros.<\/p>\n The German verb \u201ckosten\u201d has, at least, two English equivalents: to be<\/em><\/strong> and to cost<\/em><\/strong>, thus, for me as a German, it is still quite tricky when to use one or the other. But to keep things simple, when you would like to ask \u201cHow much is that\/it?\u201d, the correct German phrase is \u201cWie viel kostet das?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My last post was about German weak verbs. In addition to the explanation how to conjugate weak verbs in German, I gave you an exercise where you had to fill in the blanks with the correct conjugated forms of the verbs used in the example sentences. Following you find the key to the exercise, the…<\/p>\n